But he decided to go public about his
experience, posting videos of himself
struggling to complete a stress test. He was
relieved when the public rallied around
him. “It was really emotional and super
helpful, because people could all understand a setback,” he says.

Harper now feels he’s able to connect
with a whole new audience that didn’t necessarily have their eyes on him before.

A new protocol

Managing stress is one of the key outcomes of Harper’s experience, as stress has
a negative impact on heart health. He says
he’s found ways to relax and take a refreshed
approach to fitness. He’s incorporated
more yoga into his regimen and frequently
walks with his dogs, Karl and Vivienne. “I
want to feel good, and if I don’t want to push
too hard, I’m not going to push too hard
anymore,” says Harper.

He’s also rebalancing his plate, adding
back certain types of carbohydrates, such
as ;;; percent whole grains, that he had
previously avoided.

This approach to nutrition and exer-cise is the crux of The Super Carb Diet.“There have been so many diets out therethat have eliminated major food groups toachieve a goal. And what I wanted to dowas just balance your plate again. I wantyou to make sure that you’re having pro-tein, fat and carbs at every single meal,”says Harper. “The word ‘carb’ has becomea four-letter word, and it shouldn’t be. Itshould be a good fuel source that works foryou and enhances your workout.”Harper’s advice in The Super Carb Diethasn’t swayed from emphasizing nutritionand exercise (the book also includes ;;high-intensity interval-training workouts).But what’s di;erent about this book com-pared with others he’s written is theemphasis on stress. Harper, quoting one ofhis doctors, says, “Stress affects if andwhen you will work out. Stress a;ects if youdo make or don’t make the right foodchoices in the course of the day. Everythingthat you do in your life is going tobe somehow orchestrated bywhere your stress levels are forany given day.”Whether you’re coming backfrom your own medical setback,gaining momentum on new reso-lutions or simply looking forextra support, Harper’s new readis sure to get you moving in theright direction. C

Harper on
heart health

THECOSTCOCONNECTION

The Super Carb Diet (Item #1208996)is
available now at most Costco warehouses.

FOR YOUR HEALTH

BY HANA MEDINA

FITNESS GURU Bob Harper, of The
Biggest Loser fame, is known for his challenging workouts on- and o;-screen. If he
wasn’t pushing others to their physical
limits, he was posting his own tough workouts on social media. But it all came crashing to a halt when Harper su;ered a heart
attack on February ;;, ;;;;. He details his
experience, along with a heart-healthy eating and exercise regimen, in his latest
book, The Super Carb Diet. He spoke by
phone with The Connection from his New
York City home, emphasizing the importance of a balanced, healthy lifestyle.

Sneak attack

The kind of heart attack that Harpersu;ered is colloquially kno wn as a “widow-maker”; only ; to ;; percent of people sur-vive one. It’s caused by underlying geneticconditions that Harper wasn’t aware hehad. He has no recollection of the day—everything he knows about the eventwas secondhand information. In themiddle of his workout, he lay downon the ;oor of his CrossFit gym andbecame unresponsive. He had to berevived with an automated externalde;brillator and was put in a medi-cally induced coma for two days.Harper, who says he was veryType A and prone to stress before,explains that the heart attack madehim reevaluate his priorities. “Ireally do know that life can turn ona dime,” he states. “And I don’twant to spend the rest ofmy life just thinking, ‘I’vegot to have the perfectabs,’ or ‘I’ve got to makesure that I’m doing every-thing right.’[Life’s] aboutbeing kind; it’s about for-giving yourself.”As he began recover-ing, Harper worried whatpeople would think of a ;t-ness celebrity having aheart attack. He also strug-gled with trusting his heart to sup-port an active lifestyle again. He sayshe su;ered an identity crisis.

After a heart attacknearly took his life,Bob Harper changedhis outlook